Atlanta Ballet shines in a mixed contemporary program

Atlanta Ballet in Claudia Schreier's You Dig

Mikaela Santos and Sayron Pereira in Yuri Possokhov's Dunayevsky Pas de Deux

Denys Nedak in Val Caniparoli’s Aria

Brooke Gilliam and Carraig New in Yuri Possokhov’s Nighthawks

Catherine Conley and Denys Nedak in Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour

Airi Igarashi and Sayron Pereira in Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour

By Rebecca Ehrhardt, 05 April 2026

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“but it never takes itself too seriously, retaining a playful, whimsical quality throughout”

Reviewed at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre: John A Williams Theatre, Atlanta on 3 April 2026

Within the Golden Hour (Christopher Wheeldon)

Aria (Val Caniparoli)

Swimmer (excerpts) (Yuri Possokhov)

You Dig (world premiere) (Claudia Schreier)

Dunayevsky Pas de Deux (Yuri Possokhov)

Atlanta Ballet

Leonor Texidor, Costume Designer

Peter Mumford, Lighting Designer

Atlanta Ballet Orchestra

BalletBoyz: Still Pointless at 25 and still making it work!

Maggie Foyer, 13th May

The BalletBoyz present an entertaining programme of old and new works spanning the last 25 years – with stellar performances.

****1

Contemporary escapism at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 1st May

A longtime NYCB fan favorite, Concerto DSCH by Alexei Ratmansky, meets the New York premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Continuum. But the evening belonged to corps dancer Ruby Lister in Edwaard Liang’s Distant Cries.

****1

NYCB: Ratmansky’s The Naked King is not satire, but good fun

Ivy Lin, 7th February

New York City Ballet presents a very entertaining quadruple bill which includes Alexei Ratmansky’s latest work, The Naked King, showing off the company’s comic talents.

****1

The Royal Ballet’s Like Water for Chocolate is sumptuous but complex

Amanda Jennings, 1st October

The Royal Ballet’s season opener, Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate, is visually tremendous, very well danced but the many principal and soloist characters are difficult to keep up with.

****1

Ballet Nights makes an impressive and unforgettable Scottish debut

Kathy Elgin, 4th July

Ballet Nights is more than an evening of party pieces: it showcases emerging talent alongside older favourites and, in the case of this first Scottish outing, has an eye to local tradition.

****1

ABT in Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale: CliffsNotes Shakespeare

Ivy Lin, 2nd July

Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale is a sumptuous looking production but on this occasion, it didn’t come to life emotionally.

***11

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Rebecca Ehrhardt

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Rebecca Ehrhardt was raised by dancers and has a passion for ballet. She is a trained cultural critic with a PhD in English from the University of Southern California, where she wrote a dissertation on British literature and the philosophy of language. Rebecca also holds a BA from Columbia University and a JD from Vanderbilt University. She currently works as a judicial clerk and takes open ballet classes in her spare time.